MAD H.B. 131 75(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


ELECTIONS
H.B. 131
By: Madden
4-1-97
Committee Report (Unamended)



BACKGROUND 

 S.B. 94 was enacted during the 74th Legislative Session to institute a
method of regulating contributions, expenditures and advertising in
connection with certain judicial candidates and officeholders. Guidelines
were established for the filing of personal financial statements by
certain judicial officeholders, with attendant civil and criminal
penalties for noncompliance. 

PURPOSE

 H.B. 131 is intended as a vehicle for enhancement of  S.B. 94 by
addressing topics that surfaced in wake of implementation of the Judicial
Campaign Fairness Act. 

 If a judicial office vacancy covered under S.B. 94 is filled by
appointment, no fund raising time period is provided under current law to
accommodate such an instance.  H.B. 131 would permit a newly appointed
judicial officeholder who did not relinquish a post covered by the
Judicial Campaign Fairness Act to engage in fund raising for 60 days
following their appointment. 

 The contribution limits that a judicial candidate must comply with in
accepting contributions from members of a law firm or a general-purpose
committee established or controlled by a law firm inexplicably were not
applied to specific-purpose committees.  H.B. 131 would establish for a
specific-purpose committee the same contribution limits imposed on a
judicial candidate where the donor is a member of a law firm or a
general-purpose committee established or controlled by a law firm. 


RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or
institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 SECTION 1:  Amends Subchapter F, Chapter 253, Election Code, by adding
Section 253.1541 to permit a newly appointed judicial officeholder who did
not relinquish a post covered by the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act to
engage in fund raising for 60 days following their appointment. 

 SECTION 2:  Amends Sections 253.157(a)-(c), Election Code, to establish
for a specificpurpose committee the same contribution limits imposed on a
judicial candidate where the donor is a member of a law firm or a
general-purpose committee established or controlled by a law firm. 

 SECTION 3:   Effective date clause with allowances made for coming into
compliance with the newly enacted statutes if prior ones were in effect at
the time. 

 SECTION 4:  Emergency clause.